The practice of covering window openings for the purpose of controlling, for example, the ingress of wind and rain, the ingress and egress of people, the ingress and egress of light, and obscuring vision is very old and well known. A variety of materials and structures have been used for that purpose, including exterior shutters, interior curtains, drapes, shades, and blinds. While the use of window covering to achieve the useful purposes of controlling the ingress of light and maintaining privacy by obscuring vision through windows in structures has continued to be important, aesthetic considerations of window covering design and appearance have become increasingly significant.
Of the types of interior window coverings in common use, window shutters are among the most effective in allowing selective control of degree of window coverage and are also considered to be among the most desirable from an aesthetic perspective. However, shutters have had and continue to have the disadvantages of relatively high cost and difficulty of installation. Two basic types of interior window shutters are known in the prior art; those constructed completely of wood or the like, and those having a frame of wood or the like with a fabric insert. Both types are available to the user only in pre-assembled form, in which the dimensions of the shutter frame are fixed, except for some limited trimming allowance for final fit adjustment. It is also typically necessary for interior shutters to require professional installation, especially in situations in which window openings are not completely square, as is common in older structures. A further disadvantage of window shutters of the prior art is associated with the fact that such shutters are typically provided in an unfinished condition. Therefore, the complete surfaces of the shutters, or at least the frames of the fabric insert type, must be painted or otherwise finished as part of the installation steps, adding to the expense and/or difficulty.
There remains an unfilled need in the field for an interior window shutter which is inexpensive to produce, is easily provided in component form, may be readily assembled and installed by the user, requires no painting or other finishing at the time of installation, is aesthetically pleasing, and otherwise generally overcomes the disadvantages of shutter types known in the prior art. Accordingly, it is among the objects of the present invention to provide a window shutter system which is inexpensive to produce and provide to the final user. It is a further among the objects of the present invention to provide a window shutter system which is particularly suitable to being provided in the form of interchangeable components. It is additionally among the objects of the invention to provide a window shutter which may be easily assembled and installed by the final user. It is still further among the objects of the invention to provide a window shutter which requires no painting or other finishing by the final user. It is yet further among the objects of the invention to provide an aesthetically pleasing window shutter which overcomes the disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. It is still additionally among the objects of the present invention to provide a method of using the window shutters of the invention.